Business Objects File Repository Servers

Functions of File Repository server (FRS)

The BusinessObjects File Repository Servers(FRS) are responsible for listing files on the server, adding files to the repository, and removing files from the repository. FRS also responsible for the creation of file system objects such as exported reports, and imported files in non-native formats.

Default FRS location in BOE Installation?

FRS can be found on your disk at \Program Files\Business Objects\BusinessObjects Enterprise 12\FileStore (for XI 3.x) in default installation. The two main directories under this location are Input and Output. The Input directory stores the report templates and thumbnail images, while the Output directory stores the results from running those templates. Thus, the Output directory is normally many times larger than the Input directory. Each of these directories is managed by its own BO XI File Repository server.

Input FRS

The Input File Repository Server manages all of the report objects and program objects that have been published to the repository. It can store .RPT, .CAR, .EXE, .BAT, .JS, .XLS, .DOC, .PPT, .RTF, .TXT, .PDF, .WID files. In the case of .RPT files, they are stored as report definition files only which do not contain any data.

The Report Properties page of the CMC shows you the location of the Input report files. The RPT report template can be found at frs://Input/a_084/004/000/1108/ca067d4f1710cbc.rpt

Exploring to this location shows two files: the RPT file with the name indicated on the report properties page of the CMC and a JPEG file, which serves as the thumbnail image.

Output FRS

The Output File Repository Server manages all of the report instances (saved data copy of the report) generated by the Report Job Server or the Web Intelligence Report Server, and the program instances generated by the Program Job Server. It also manages instances generated by the Web Intelligence Report Server and the LOV Job Server. It can store the following files: .RPT, .CSV, .XLS, .DOC, .RTF, .TXT, .PDF, .WID. For .RPT and .WID files are stored as reports/documents with saved data.

Since Output FRS stores the report instances, deleting instances would remove instances not the actual reports. However the report structure will be stored in the Input FRS.

Using Query Builder we can find the location of the Output File repository files. The following query may be handy if you already know the report name.

If the SI_INSTANCE value is false then the InfoObject is the actual report and SI_PATH will be in Input FRS. If SI_INSTANCE is true then the InfoObject would be an Instance and the SI_PATH will be in Output FRS.

Exploring to this location shows the actual instance file pertaining report data with the appropriate export format based on the scheduling parameters.

Diagnosing File Repository Servers

Repository Diagnostic Tool (RDT) is a command-line tool that scans, diagnoses, and repairs inconsistencies between your Central Management Server (CMS) system database and the File Repository Servers (FRS) filestore, or inconsistencies that can occur in the metadata of InfoObjects stored in the CMS database. This inconsistencies may occur during unexpected events such as disaster recovery, back-up restoration, or network outages. During these events, the CMS system database may be interrupted while performing a task. This can cause inconsistencies with objects in the CMS system database.

List of inconsistencies that could potentially occur in repository which RDT can identify are

Inconsistency

Description

Repair Actions

InfoObject exists, but no file

It is possible that an InfoObject exists in the CMS, but there is no file FRS

Delete the InfoObject, unless otherwise told

File exists but no InfoObject

It is possible the file exists but there is no
corresponding InfoObject

User is notified to republish the object

Invalid Parent ID

An InfoObject can potentially have an
invalid parent reference

The object and its children will be moved
Into a folder call ‘Repair’.

Last Successful Instance

The reference to the last successful
scheduled instance could be invalid

Remove the ID and let the CMS
automatically recalculate it

Invalid Target ID

A shortcut could be pointing to an invalid
object

The shortcut object will be deleted,
unless told otherwise.

File size is wrong

There can be information discrepancies
between the InfoObject and actual file

Update the InfoObject

Empty folders in the system

There may be empty folders due to old
objects

Remove the empty directories, unless
otherwise told.

Limitations for File Repository Servers

The Input and Output File Repository Servers cannot share the same directories. This is because one of the File Repository Servers could then delete files and directories belonging to the other.

In larger deployments, there may be multiple Input and Output File Repository Servers, for redundancy. In this case, all Input File Repository Servers must share the same directory. Likewise, all Output File Repository Servers must share a directory.